International Involvement, "Global English," and NCTE

1) that NCTE would provide specific help to teachers about the ways educational and literacy practices in other nations may affect their students and the interactions they are experiencing with their students, for example: through appropriate publications and conference planning efforts;

2) that NCTE staff and officers develop knowledge of and relations with their counterparts in mother-tongue literacy organizations in this hemisphere; and

(3) that NCTE leaders involved in governmental relations have knowledge of the analysis and strategy of similar organizations in other English-speaking countries.

Motion 2009:34Due to the changing global environment of educational standards and assessments, the NCTE will situate its discussion and initiatives about language arts standards and assessments in the full international context.

The motions above were approved April 25, 2009.

In considering international memberships and partnerships, the Executive Committee, Officers, Conferences, relevant committees, and other interested proposers should be guided by these criteria in order to benefit the NCTE and its members. Each of these criteria implies that we are looking for active involvement and benefit.

To provide comparative knowledge to help us rethink the U.S. educational situation in terms of definition of problems, pedagogy, and policies.Communication with others beyond our borders can provide us comparative cases and data, and information about different pedagogic practice, programs, and policy initiatives, along with the associated research. Dialogues with colleagues internationally will also challenge and extend our own knowledge.

To provide opportunities for teachers and students to learn about others and how to communicate in a global world. Partnerships can foster international classroom to classroom communication and sharing of information, using the tools of new technologies. Classroom to classroom exchanges can build skills in communicating with others across distances and cultures. Partnerships can also foster professional growth opportunities for our membership building on existing structures of conferences and workshops within the U.S. and other countries. Reciprocal presentations and simple information sharing about events can increase communication at no or little organizational expense.

To cooperate with professional organizations on global and hemispheric language education issues and policy issues of common concern. We have a shared interest in and responsibility for advancing literacy and language education in all countries, especially those with whom we share immigrant and binational students. Further, international movements have an impact on U.S. educational policy, so we would do well to gather information and perhaps have a say on these. Further we need to face responsibly the complexity of global English and the relation to L1 literacy.